Wednesday, January 1, 2014

No one likes goodbyes. Least of all me. But after 670 posts, I have decided to call it quits. And what a journey it has been. Together we have travelled to the four corners of the globe, uncovering architectural gems. Voyeuristically peeking through cracks and crevices, into windows and behind doors, all to find the illusive phenomenon known as Style.

To ring in 2014, here are fourteen of my favourite and more personal postings:

1. The Legacy of Utata Mandela (here)
2. Alphaville on the Esplanade (here)
3. Chandler House (here)
4. By the Rivers of Babylonstoren (here)
5. S.O.S. (here)
6. Three months in Cape Town: A Snapshot (here)
7. Our House at the End of our Street: Finale (here... and more here)
8. Searching for Sugar Man - Tribeca, New York (here)
9. New Year's Eve: Seen and Heard at the Stork Club (here)
10. Passage to Africa III - Stowe (Part I) (here)
11. In the Ring with Brooklyn Circus (here)12. On Location: B'More (here)
13. My husband said I should call this Buying at Brimfield with my Husband's Money (here)
14. Quagga (here)

To all those who journeyed with me and offered input and appreciation, thank you and an enormously happy 2014.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Artist André Dubreuil has devoted 20 years to the meticulous restoration of his family's grand 18th-century chateau.

When I am surrounded by beauty, whether it’s in nature or with objects, that’s when I am at my happiest... When I am here, I never want to leave, he says as he heads down a tree-lined driveway to the 18th-century estate.

Well, I would also be chained to the place if I were he. Sigh, swoon and suspire...

Saturday, December 28, 2013

The winter landscapes began in late October. They are often based around Ipsden or Oxfordshire locations, most were drawn in or near to my car on the way to work. They are often bleak open places, influenced by Graham Sutherland's etchings or Rembrandt's small landscapes, they are bisected by the page divide...